FA LiveConnect

The organisers of the first virtual edition of Fruit Attraction have announced that the Fruit Attraction LIVEConnect platform will remain operational following its successful launch last month.

Between 1 and 31 October, almost 7,000 members made more than 15,000 professional contacts and exchanged 40,814 messages. The platform hosted more than 500 meetings and 186 video calls.

“In light of the success and lively activity on the Fruit Attraction LIVEConnect platform during its first month in operation, we have decided to keep it operational throughout November and December,” Ifema and Fepex said.

“After this initial phase, it will be kept open permanently, providing the international fruit and vegetable sector with a year-round resource for information and business relationships, with networking opportunities and targeted content.”

This extension will be free for registered participants, who will also be able to access the 228 technical conferences that were held during the show.

More than 1,900 users registered for these panel discussions and presentations, which included the World Fresh Forum, Biofruit Congress, Biotech Attraction, Fresh Food Logistics Summit, Women’s Forum, as well as seminars on Brexit and Covid-19.

During the first month of activity on the platform there were 41,235 clicks on the list of participating exhibitors, made up of 433 companies, as well as 26,354 in the Community Network; 19,930 in the Conference Programme, and 17,492 in the Exhibitors Sales Force and Staff section, according to the fair’s organisers.

Users of the platform will also be able to learn more about the 160 horticultural products and services which took part in the Innovation Hub and the 20 finalists of the Innovation Hub Awards.

This year’s awards were won by Redi, a unique type of broccoli developed by Bejo Ibérica, and Agrocolor’s Hybrid Footprint Certification (H3) project.

“Because Fruit Attraction is an instrument at the service of the commercial revitalisation of the international fruit and vegetable sector, we must be able to support and contribute to this process of sales hybridisation by providing tools that facilitate relational transformation,” said the fair’s director, Raúl Calleja.

“We are doing this by including contacts, content, products, companies, and much more in a single platform. Naturally, there are certain irreplaceable advantages to face-to-face contacts, but Fruit Attraction LIVEConnect is strengthening and complementing them with functionalities lacking in the in-person events.

“Face-to-face and remote interactions are not the same, but they can complement, strengthen and reinforce each other. Each user must be able to get the most from this new platform.”

Fruit Attraction 2021 will be held on 5-7 October.